Titans-Patriots Post-Game Quotes

JF: You know, I guess fortunately for me, career wise, I have never been through anything like this before and unfortunately it happened tonight. I can assure you one thing, it’s not going to happen again. I guess our bye week comes at a good time to start over and look at everything that we are doing. You know, I am very disappointed obviously and embarrassed to say the least. We played a very good football team, but that wasn’t us out there today so…we’ve got, as I said, a lot of work to do. And we’ll make the most of the time this week to get things done. So I am not going to address the quarterback situation this evening. You know, injury-wise the only player that was injured and did not return was LenDale White and we have a lot of things to look at, and a short time to get things fixed…questions.

Q: Why wasn’t the team ready to play tonight?

JF: The team? I thought the team was ready. They practiced really well this week, in a close to similar environment, despite you know, the snow. But I thought we were ready to play. And the turnovers, obviously you can’t turn the football over like that.

Q: Why has this team struggled with adversity?

JF: You know, things have turned for the worst awfully quick for this franchise and it’s my job to get it straightened out. And that’s what I’m going to do and that’s what I’m going to continue to do. We have a lot of talented players in that room, but as I told them, whether you’re a first year rookie or a 15 year vet, like Kevin [Kaesviharn] or Kerry [Collins], this just doesn’t happen. It’s not good and doesn’t get any worse, but if we’ve bottomed out here then all we can move is up and that’s what we’re going to do.

Q: Jeff, are you worried that going 0-6 like this could cost you your job?

JF: You know, I’m going to keep fighting. I’m going to just keep working. You know the staff didn’t forget how to coach in the off season, you know, it doesn’t happen. You don’t forget how to coach overnight. What we have to do is find a way to win a ball game.

Q: [inaudible]

JF: You know, again, I’m going to keep fighting. As the staff and as the players are. We’re just going to keep working. Fortunately, maybe we’ll get some people back. We’re hurt in the secondary and we’re trial by fire for a lot of the young DBs. You know, that’s part of it. We’ll be better off because of it.

Q: Do you expect big changes in the bye week?

JF: I’m not going to go into changes now. We’re going to look at everything real hard and you know we got to get back to doing something well…in all three phases.

Q: Last week you guys rushed four guys almost the whole time, and it seemed like you did the same against the Patriots today. Why not a willingness to change things up?

JF: We did, we pressured a little bit, got caught both times and we also gave up a touchdown pass on a screen tonight. And Tom did a good job of getting the ball out. We were concerned about their screen. They are very [good] at executing it. You know, we got pressure, just didn’t…you know, we gave up big plays and turned the football over to them.

Q: Do you think they ran up the score at all, 45 nothing in the 3rd quarter?

JF: No, that was their plan going in, why are they going to change their plan?

Q: Do you think your team gave up at all? Or effort was an issue?

JF: No, they played. We didn’t tackle well in the second half, they had a couple runs that we had a couple linebackers out of position, but I wouldn’t say lack of effort. I mean it’s hard to go out there and play with emotion, the same emotion, when you are down by 45. But I didn’t see a lack of effort. I saw frustration, but not a lack of effort.

Q: What was the demeanor like in the locker room, Jeff?

JF: It was less than celebratory.

Q: Losing the Super Bowl is tough, but is this a low point in your career?

JF: This is difficult. This is not an easy one, but sometimes it takes this, so hopefully there’s some good in this and we get back on our feet, and we find a way to win a game.

Q: How come so many drops, was it lack of concentration with the guys?

JF: You know, I don’t know, they caught it. They were catching it. We must have dropped the first seven or eight passes. Who knows, you make a couple of those catches and you flip the field and who knows. There is a lot more than just those, there are a lot of things that we got to get working on, so…

OILERS QUARTERBACK KERRY COLLINS

(On this being the most frustrating day for him as a quarterback)

“It’s about as bad as it gets, period the end. We just need to take a look at where we are at and use this bye week to our advantage and get this thing figured out.”

(On the last three weeks)

“From an offensive standpoint, we haven’t done enough to help ourselves early in the ballgames. We put ourselves in situations that we haven’t been able to overcome. We haven’t given ourselves a chance to keep drives alive and to capitalize on opportunities. It’s very frustrating.”

(On the team dropping some balls)

“I know this: we are all responsible for this loss and for the past couple of losses. I know there are things we all can do better.”

(On his thoughts that Jeff Fisher might make a QB change)

“I am not going to assume anything at this point. I still feel like I am the quarterback of this team and this is my team. I give us a chance to win when I go out there.”

(On ever being part of such a lopsided game)

“I haven’t been a part of a game like this in the pros. In college, I have been part of a couple on the plus side of games like this. We made a lot of mistakes and we played a really good football team. When you put those two things together, it’s going to be a bad loss.”

(On the team struggling when adversity hits)

“I wish I could put my finger on it. We have guys that are out there fighting and doing everything they can. Unfortunately, the frustrating part is, it’s not working out for us, but that is something we all have to deal with and I will have to take to heart this bye week and just try and stick together and come back.”

(On feeling the game spinning out of control)

“At the end of the first half, I think we turned it over three straight possessions, two of those were mine and that’s unacceptable, bottom line.”

(On the weather conditions)

“They had to play with them too and they didn’t do those kinds of things, from my standpoint, two fumbled snaps and that is something that I have to do, to take better care of the ball.”

(On what has happened to the team in such a short period of time)

“It’s hard to tell. I know from an offensive standpoint, we are turning the ball over too much. We didn’t turn the ball over a lot last year and I think that helped us win a lot of games.”

(On keep playing through the lopsided score)

“We are professionals, we are expected to play hard every play and compete. I think guys did that, I don’t think I saw anyone out there that wasn’t competing or quit. That is expected every week, were are expected to win and to give winning performance and we just aren’t doing that right now.”

(On what to do moving forward as the quarterback of this team)

“I think this is a time when the leaders of this team, I consider myself a leader, I am a workaholic, I am going to do everyone I can on the practice field, the locker room to win next week. There’s no room for whining or complaining or pointing fingers. I am not going to throw helmets, scream at guys or call people out. We will come back to work and that’s the bottom line. I hope guys follow my example.”

(On the team’s chances of turning around their season)

“Absolutely I think we can, without question. We are not as bad as we think we are right now. It is hard to see that right now after tonight, we need to keep working and good things will happen. We have a bunch of guys that just aren’t going to lay down, they aren’t going to quit and keep pushing forward. As long as we do that, we have a chance.”

“We had too many turnovers. What did we have, like five turnovers? And then we didn’t put any points on the board on offense. Any time you do that against a team like the Patriots it is not a very good outcome.”

(On whether the Titans have hit rock bottom)

“I would have to say it is, 59-0 and zero and six, that’s what it is. There isn’t anything else you can say.”

“I have been playing sports since I was 8, and never in any sport have I experienced anything like this. I guess the problem was we could not stop them; we kept giving them the ball on turnovers. It seemed like whatever they dialed up was working and a couple of times they had great calls for whatever we called.”

(On whether the effort was there)

“I would say the effort was there. I haven’t looked at the films to pinpoint things, but effort was definitely there. Guys that got hurt were going back in.

(On going from 10-0 last year to 0-6)

“By the sixth game of the season, we are past last year’s 10-0 and we were trying to figure that out after 0-2. Right now we are in a situation that we put ourselves in, and as men, I think this bye week will be good for some people. We can get away and get healthy. As men we will have to come back and understand what we have to do. The season is not over, there are 10 games left, and I plan to play ten games all out.”

“We knew coming into this game that he didn’t look like he has had any knee surgery. He is comfortable back there and his offensive line and his receivers did a great job for him today. ”

(On the score)

“They were just running their plays and it just so happens that they were working. It is up to us as a defense to stop them and we just couldn’t get them stopped when we needed to. I wouldn’t say it is embarrassing, I would say disappointing. Coming to this game we didn’t think we would get this many points put up on us and we worked hard all week. I would say disappointing more than embarrassing.”

“I felt good. My only difficulty was just the traction on the grass. On my cutting, I had nothing because there was so much ice. I had nothing. I just wanted to make sure I kept my feet under me. I couldn’t cut the way I wanted to. Other than that, I was going to go out there, but it wasn’t the way I wanted it. Any little experience, anything, helps.”

(On the weather)

“I am from Dayton, Ohio. I am used to it, but usually I would be more prepared, get some longer spikes or something.”

“Luckily, the bye week come at a great time. We can try to re-group ourselves and try to get away and come back hungrier. I have never witnessed anything like this. We have just got to get better. That is all we can do. We can never give up. I know the guys in this locker room won’t.”

(On the weather)

“That is just an excuse and I am not going to say it affected us. You have to come out and play hard. We can’t control the weather.”

“There’s a lot of situations you prepare for. This is just one of those things you have to adjust and try to adapt. The footing was no good, but that goes both ways. We just had too many mistakes and some of it was footing, but it all falls back on us.”

(On emotions after a loss like this)

“This team has a lot of pride. I think we are just making mistakes and a good team doesn’t do that. I have a ‘C’ on my chest and I have to try and help get this thing turned around.”

“I don’t think anybody in this league is 59 points better than us. We’re just not playing good and this is the worst it gets right here. We just have to regroup and come back and start over.”

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS HEAD COACH BILL BELICHICK

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

BB: OK, that was I thought a really good effort by our team, all the way across the board. I’m really proud of them coming back off last week’s game. I thought we executed at a pretty good level, hit some big plays both in the running game, passing game, turning the ball over on defense, played pretty solid in the kicking game, so it was a good, solid all-around effort. The team had a good week of practice and that was reflected in the way that they played. The players really did a good job with the conditions, which is a little unusual for this time of year, but we’ve talked about them. We’ve certainly been in wet and in wind, not in snow, but similar. I think they really paid attention to a lot of the details and did a good job of taking care of the ball and playing in those conditions, playing with their feet under them. [It was] a good win. We’ve got a quick turnaround here. It’s really a short week with all the traveling we have and all that, so we’re going to have to turn it around pretty quick for Tampa. [It’s] good to win and a real good job by our football team today. The players did a great job.

Q: Were you a little surprised the points and the big plays kept piling on?

BB: Yeah, you never go into a game thinking it’s going to be like this. But we did a good job protecting the quarterback, we threw the ball and caught it, opened some holes, ran well. Anytime you turn the ball over that can lead to some points and it did today.

Q: Did you see this game as a test of wills given the weather the way it was?

BB: I think every game in this league is a test of wills – it really is. It’s a real competitive league. The Titans are a good football team. They’ve got a lot of good players. I know this wasn’t their day today, I’m not trying to say it is, but they have a lot of good players, they’ve got a good team, they’ve got a good coach. It was just our day today.

Q: Was that an easy decision to put Sebastian Vollmer in for Matt Light?

BB: We finished the game with Sebastian [Vollmer] there last week and he’s worked there all year. It seemed like he held up OK. We’ll take a look at the film and all that, but it seemed like he held up all right. The protection was decent.

Q: Personnel-wise, Adalius Thomas was inactive and he wasn’t on the injury report all week. Was there anything personal with him?

BB: No, we just went with the players we thought would have the bigger role in the game.

Q: Can you comment on the offensive eruption you had in this game?

BB: A lot of things came together. We missed on some of those big plays over the first five games and it seemed like we hit on most of them today. We got some good running, good running for catch plays, screens, runs and things like that. It was a great job by the players. They broke tackles. They ran hard. They got yards after the catch. They got open and the quarterback hit them and the line blocked. We had good field position. We were on a short field a couple times. All those things, all the stars were in alignment.

Q: The switch to the 3-4, was that because you got Jerod Mayo back?

BB: Again, we’ve played all those defenses through the years. You’ve seen them all before. It was a game-plan thing.

Q: Was there something Laurence Maroney was doing better today?

BB: I don’t know. I think Laurence has run hard. He got a little crease and we all know once he gets out there he can run and he did. He turned it on. He had a couple nice runs and he runs hard. We had a little bit of space and once he got some momentum he’s a hard guy to bring down. We’ve all seen that before.

Q: Over the years, your clubs have played well in the snow. What do you attribute that to?

BB: Good players. The players were the ones out there playing today and they did a good job. They kept their feet. They handled the ball well. They handled it cleanly. We missed some tackles on defense, but we made some. We made some plays defensively, turning the ball over. Some of those were tough catches, good plays, but we got them. The credit goes to the players; they did a great job.

Q: Is there any edge in mental toughness, playing teams that aren’t used to these weather conditions?

BB: I think when you play well – whatever the conditions are – things come out a lot better than when you don’t. Today was an example of [that]. We just did a lot of things well. We took care of the ball. We took advantage of the opportunities we had to turn it over. We finished most of our drives and got the ball in the end zone. We got off the field on third down. We could take a little bit more of that.

Q: Can you talk about Junior Seau?

BB: Junior looked like Junior. He’s timeless. He came out to practice this week and he’s running around, making calls, chasing after the ball, flying around like a rookie. That’s just Junior. He’s got great passion for the game and a lot of energy when he steps out there. Whatever his role is, whatever the play…He’s a football player. It doesn’t matter if its first down, second down, third down, practice, regular season game, snow, 90 degrees; he just tears around out there and he loves the game. I think he brought a good level of energy and enthusiasm to our team this week. And today — I’m not saying that was the difference — but I’m just saying he brought it in a positive way and it was good to have.

Q: Anytime there’s a big score at the half, was there any thought of taking Tom Brady out?

BB: We took him out right after that. I think it was one more drive or two – whatever it was. [Brian] Hoyer played a big chunk of the game. You only have 45 guys in the game, somebody’s got to play. You only have seven linemen, down a receiver here or there, or running back. The guys that are here have got to play.

Q: There was still some offensive plays happening there in the third quarter…

BB: When we put Brian [Hoyer] in, look, we’re not trying to do anything but run our offense and that’s what we wanted to give Brian a chance to do was to run the plays he’s going to have to run at some point if he plays, whether they’re passes, third-down plays, check-with-me plays, whatever they are. We went into the game with a game plan and I know the score got out of hand, but we were just trying to run our offense when Brian or whoever else was in there, whether it was Kendall [Simmons], Dan [Connolly], BenJarvus [Green-Ellis] and all those guys got to play. When they were in there we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. Somebody’s got to play.

Q: Tennessee picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty. Do you worry that when the score is out of hand like that the other team will take cheap shots?

BB: No, I think we just worry about doing our job. [We] just try to run the plays that we call and just try to do them.

Q: You’re not supposed to be able to throw a football that well in these elements. It wasn’t a problem?

TB: You know, some days out there when it’s snowy like that, it’s actually an advantage for the offense. Today was one of those days because we had good footing and it’s just fun to be a part of it. I was saying, when you see the weather forecast on Thursday, you’re kind of [angry] and then once the day of the game comes around, everyone is excited because you’re out there and you’re like, ‘This is football. This is how it should be.’

Q: At the beginning of the week you mentioned those long plays that you haven’t been able to get. And then tonight – was the wind not that big of a deal? How did you pull it off in this weather?

TB: It’s important for the offense to hit those when they’re there, and had we hit a few more of those in the last – last week, obviously, it would be a different story. We’ve got to make those plays when they’re there, and they gave us a couple of opportunities today. Coach Belichick was on us pretty tough, being the only team to not hit a 40-yard pass play or have a 20-yard run all season, so hopefully we kept him quiet for a week or two.

Q: You guys have had a lot of great games here in the snow. You’ve got to say it’s a home field advantage. Any particular reason?

TB: We practice in it every day. I mean, we haven’t obviously practiced in the snow – this was pretty unexpected by all of us – but we don’t go in the [Dana Farber Field House] too often, whether it’s windy or it’s cold or it’s rainy or obviously snowy like this. There are certain ways you have to play the game and I think Arizona was the same way last year for us and we played very well. We’re kind of a team in the Northeast – football conditions, you’ve got to go out and play in them and I think it’s just a big benefit to practice in them, so it was fun to see the way we preformed out there. Hopefully that really helps us to go into next week.

Q: Were you seeing things better tonight than you had been or were you just throwing better?

TB: I just think the execution was better. We’ve had guys open, and it’s the quarterback’s job to throw the ball accurately and get the ball to the guys who are open. We did a better job of that today all around. The pass protection was great. That’s a very good front seven that they have, and the offensive line kept them out of there. Guys were getting open in the secondary. Randy [Moss] – any time he has three touchdowns, you know that’s a great game. Wes [Welker] had another great game, as he always does. It was just a better all-around effort. I think that’s what we need.

Q: In the context of this season, you coming back, and everything that has happened so far, what does this game tell you about the offense and where you are at?

TB: Well, when we execute better, this is the outcome. Not every game are you going to win by this many points, but you’re going to score touchdowns, you’re going to get the ball in the red area, you’re going to hit the big plays, you’re going to change the field position with big plays. We had a lot of good runs out there too, so I think that just shows us that what we’ve done up to this point, the times that we go out and execute well, we’re able to score points, we’re able to keep the defense off the field. It’s able to become a one-dimensional game because we’re getting ahead of the teams, which forces the other team to throw more and that’s what creates turnovers. It was a complimentary game for us. That team was 13-3 last year and they still have a lot of great players and I think we came out with a great effort. It was a great practice this week and I think we’re going to need the same thing this week.

Q: Can you go back to the flea flicker and how you saw it develop?

TB: I don’t remember the defense they were in, but Benny [BenJarvus Green-Ellis] kind of went through there and the guy was really far up field. He turned with Benny and Benny pitched it back and had great time on the throw. You can always tell when Randy’s open, because he puts on another gear. I just threw it out there and he was wide open and he made a great catch, so it was a big play for us.

Q: When you were on the sideline in the second half and you looked up and saw almost a high school football score, were you surprised or shaking your head?

TB: You know, not really. You’d think we would have been like that, but we’ve won a lot of big games around here. We’ve played well on offense for a long time, and I don’t think it really shakes anybody up when you go out there and do that. I think we were just excited that we finally played well and put together 60 minutes of football. I think we’ve had some good halves. We’ve had some good three quarters, but today we put together four pretty good quarters.

Q: Did you expect to go back in in the second half?

TB: Yeah.

Q: Were you told at halftime that you’d be going back in?

TB: Yeah.

Q: Were you surprised by that hit on the first play of the second half?

TB: No. I don’t think he meant it. He said he got kind of pushed into me.

Q: What did you think of Sebastian Vollmer’s play, in for Matt Light?

TB: He did a great job and he’s really worked hard. He’s very well coached. He’s a smart kid. He’s tough. You see how big he is out there, so he’s got a lot of physical tools. His intelligence gets him in the right position, the right calls. He did a great job today. That’s what the job of a backup tackle is – to go in and play great and that’s a tough spot to be in at left tackle, especially with a guy like [Matt] Light who’s been so dependable.

Q: Do you have to make any adjustments to the way you hold and throw the ball in weather like this, or is it just like normal?

TB: You’ve got to make a couple adjustments. I move my hand on the ball a little bit to just to try to control it a little better.

Q: Forward or backward?

TB: I move my hand up on the ball and you end up pushing a little more, but you can lose control of it pretty easy if you’re not gripping it right.

Q: Did you personally need a game like this? Not necessarily five touchdowns in a quarter, but a game where you were hitting well?

TB: I think it was good for all of us, I really do. It was a great week of practice for us. I think every week we’re learning something more about ourselves and what we need to do. There’s no doubt a game like this can really give you a lot of confidence and we’re a confident – we’ve always been a confident team. I think we’ve been a disappointed team at times this year, not performing the way that we expected to, whether it’s not getting in the red area or not getting the third-and-one situation like against Buffalo, against the Jets. There have been some situations that come up and we’ve always tried to be a good situational team, a good bad weather team, really put a lot of pressure on the defense and today was a lot better

Q: Can you comment on heading to London next week?

TB: It should be a great experience for all of us. It’s probably the only time in all of our careers that we’ll do it. It’s going to be a short week for us and we’ve got to go over there and play well and hopefully take some of the confidence that we gained from today and go over there and try to play in a different country and try to play well.

Q: Do you realize what you accomplished today? Five touchdown passes in one quarter.

TB: I didn’t even – to tell you the truth, I didn’t even know. I mean, I really didn’t. I knew we were playing good – I knew that. We were kind of going up and down the field, and the two-minute drive, I always love getting the ball with two minutes, especially with no time left on the clock for the defense. So that’s always the goal – to score and not give the opponent time to come back. It was good. We did a great job. Play calls were great. It was really a fun day to be out there.

PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVER WES WELKER

(On if it felt good to get a chance to connect with Tom Brady for two touchdowns)

“Yeah, absolutely, having number 12 in there and kind of back to his old self. He kind of showed it tonight and, under the conditions, he played really well and the whole offense was able to come together and make some plays.”

(On why the Patriots seem to play so well in the snow)

“I know Coach [Belichick] does a really good job of coaching us up: what’s good, what’s bad, making sure we have good footing, the right cleats, things like that. And understanding that we need to be in the right type of plays and being able to come off breaks and things like that are going to be a little bit different under the conditions. We need to make sure that in the kicking game we’re taking care of our responsibilities and things like that.”

(On if it’s an advantage to have experience playing in that type of weather)

“Yeah, I think we do a really good job of going out there and executing our assignments. When you get to practice in it and get ready for it, it helps, especially in the game-time situations.”

(On Tom Brady and Bill Belichick talking about not being able to connect on big plays prior to Sunday and what the difference was against the Titans)

“I think we were just sick of hearing [Coach Belichick and Brady] and kind of wanted to shut them up.”

[laughter]

“I think we were able to do that today a little bit. It’s something that definitely needs to be a part of our offense. I think we had been so close on a bunch of them and we were just barely missing and today we were able to hit on some of those and make the game a lot easier.”

(On the “flea flicker” play)

“It’s definitely a play that we were working on and the defense really bit up, thinking it was a run. I almost wanted to just throw my hand up and take it through the middle, but we have Randy [Moss] for that and he did a great job, made a great catch and Tom [Brady] made a great throw. I think we’ve had a lot of situations like that, we just hadn’t hit on them and today we were able to.”

(On if he had ever been a part of such a lopsided score, even at Texas Tech)

“Except the defense was playing really well here, so that would be the one difference from Texas Tech (laughter). But [the defense] getting turnovers and good field position and [the offense] being able to run the ball and really execute our plays and everybody doing their assignments, it just makes a world of difference.”

PATRIOTS LOCKER ROOM QUOTES

Jerod Mayo, Linebacker

(On rebounding from last week’s OT loss)

“Anytime you’re coming off a loss, it’s really tough to go back to work. But, coaches got the morale together, we went back to practice and it showed today.”

(On rookie contributions)

“He [Darius Butler] came out and played today and played well. So did [Pat] Chung. Those rookies are really stepping up and making plays when we need them.”

(On the fumble recoveries)

“The coaches always tell us to go after the ball and the first person make the tackle and the second person to go in after the ball. ”

(On if the offensive output was a surprise)

“Not really. [Tom] Brady is an excellent quarterback and our offense did an excellent job moving the ball. Coach told us how the weather was going to be and had a great plan for us. ”

(On if the team thought the Titans gave up in the game)

“I’m not sure. We just went out there every series ready to play regardless of what the score was. At half time coach said to forget the first half and come back and play just as hard in the second half.”

(On if this win was nice after losing last week)

“Anytime you come off a loss, it’s always tough to come back to work. Coach got the morale together and we all went back to practice and it showed today.”

Dan Koppen, Center

(On the first touchdown of the game)

“It was a simple dive play up and we were able to split the defense and Laurence [Maroney] took it full-speed ahead and took it to the house. It was a great run by him. He saw the crease and hit it.”

(On the passing game taking off this week)

“It’s an emphasis every week. We just weren’t able to hit them until this week. From that standpoint, it was great. Tommy [Brady] threw the ball really well and the receivers got open and caught it. So, hopefully we can keep it going.”

(On the offense having a good balance of run and pass plays)

“We were just trying to keep them off balance so they can’t really get a read on what is going on. It gives us an opportunity to do what we do and make plays and keep the chains moving. ”

(On the weather conditions)

“It felt like December out there but I will take snow over rain any day. It’s not as wet as rain and it’s a little bit better for ball handling.”

(On the weather conditions)

“The weather is what it was. We weren’t playing the weather, we were playing Tennessee. We came out and just executed. We ran the ball well, Tommy [Brady] threw it really well and the receivers got open and made plays.”

(On the play of the Titans)

“They’re a good football team. When the score is like that at halftime, it’s pretty tough for anybody. They have good players and they played hard. We were able to come out and just score and get up on them early and stay up.”

(On converting turnovers into points)

“The defense did a great job all day, allowing only one first down in the first half or something like that. They were getting off the field and we were able to capitalize on what they gave us.”

(On playing in the weather conditions)

“It’s fun. It’s football. I wouldn’t say it’s December but it’s October right now. It’s crazy weather wise, but the weather up here is crazy. It can be rainy, windy, doesn’t matter, then it can be sunny in the second half. Both teams have to deal with it, and we were able to go out and really execute it and that helped us.”

Junior Seau, Linebacker

(On his return)

“That [tonight] was my training camp…what I did the last eight months was basically training for the chance and a choice. The chance was if Bill [Belichick] ever called, I would work out enough where I can have a choice. Because if I didn’t work out, there wouldn’t be a choice.”

(On getting back into game shape)

“You’re never going to be able to be in football shape. But what you can do is get to a point where you’re conditioned--number one--mentally and physically. Emotionally, you know, it’s going to come. It’s going to come. Today was a good start.”

(On the fumble recovery)

“The fumble recovery was a great strip by [Brandon] Meriweather. It was a big play for us and he did a great job of getting that out and I just threw my big coconut butt on it and recovered it.”

(On preparation for today’s game)

“Everything worked today. You have to credit the players for training and getting ready during the week, the coaching staff for preparing us and we looked good today. We know that. We have to put that aside, pack our bags and start again.”

Gary Guyton, Linebacker

(On playing with four linebackers in the 3-4 defense)

“It was a little change but we all took care of it and handled it professionally. We just played when we were called. It’s always fun to play with [Jerod] Mayo and [Junior] Seau and I’m just enjoying the experience.”

(On if the defense was pumped up about protecting the shut out)

“We just had to go out and do the things we do best. We just came together and played solid defense as a whole.”

Brandon Meriweather, Safety

(On if the team thought the game was lopsided)

“To be honest I didn’t really know what the score was until we went in for half time. I just knew that the defense was playing good and we wanted to keep it up. ”

(On what the team will take out of this game)

“There is good and bad in everything. We took good out of last week and took bad out of last week as well. We are going to take some good things out of this week and also take the bad things about this week. We are just looking forward to playing next week.”

Darius Butler, Cornerback

(On the reception his teammates gave him after his interception)

“It means a lot. It means that they support me. It was my first interception, so it was a big one. And obviously it meant a little more to me because of the news that happened last night [regarding Jasper Howard], so it was huge.”

(On if the news about former Connecticut teammate Jasper Howard’s death was on his mind at all during the game)

“Here and there. I was definitely focused on the game, but obviously something that serious was in the back of my mind.”

(On if it was difficult to play)

“Not really, because I know how much [Howard] loved the game so it didn’t affect my game negatively.”

Kevin Faulk, Running Back

(On if he thought the Titans lost desire at any point during the game)

“It was not about them giving up, it was about us continuing to play throughout the game no matter what went on during the game.”

(On if the Patriots like to play in the snow)

“Whatever it is, is what it is. If we have to play in the rain, sleet, snow, you’ve got to do it. No matter what the conditions are, we have to play a good game – offensively, defensively and on special teams.”

(On if it was nice to see Laurence Maroney have a good game)

“It was nice to see Laurence, BenJarvus [Green-Ellis] get in the game. Tom [Brady] had a real good game, the receivers. It was nice to see everybody just have a good game and have fun.”

(On how important it is to get the offense established as a force in the league again)

“Established is just a word. We just want to get better each and every week. So it’s not about us getting established, it’s about us getting better each and every week.”

Leigh Bodden, Cornerback

(On the defense getting several takeaways)

“The defense definitely stepped up; got a lot of turnovers today and helped put the offense in position and give the offense the ball a lot so they could do a lot of things. It just goes hand-in-hand, we played a big game today.”

(On if the defense was focusing on creating turnovers Sunday)

“Every week we focus on getting turnovers, so it’s no different. But today they just came in bunches and hopefully we can continue to do that as a defense.”

Laurence Maroney, Running Back

(On the Patriots’ win today)

“It really wasn’t about me. As a team, we played a great game. We played a complementary game, offense and defense. I had a good game, but it was more of the team had a good game.”

(On his first quarter touchdown run)

“Especially with the conditions, you have to be patient and let the blocks happen, because a lot of things are going to be a lot slower because people are running and trying to keep their footing. I knew it wasn’t going to be a real fast, fast game. I knew it was going to be more patient and downhill and hopefully you slip through some tackles.”

(On if his 100-yard game helped to build his confidence)

“One thing I never did was lose confidence in myself. I knew with the right opportunities, we can go out there and I can do my thing. I never lost confidence, but after a game like this it does make me feel good.”